Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The Lost World of Byzantium by Jonathan Harris

Byzantium is the name we give to the Eastern Roman Empire,
but they called themselves Romans.They
carried on the traditions of the Roman Empire until they were defeated after
1000 years (the book spans from 330 to 1453).The Byzantine Empire was the Christian Roman Empire.The author offers not a comprehensive
history, but:

a personal journey through the long history of
Byzantium

He tries to explain how it managed to last as long as it did
during very tumultuous times, and why it seemingly disappeared so
completely.The book reads like a one-sided
conversation with someone who loves the Byzantine era and know pretty much all
there is to know about it.The author
presents some questions and possible answers, some personalities, and some
events that stand out.

To appreciate this book, it is best to have a basic
grounding in the Byzantine Empire's history.Think of this book as a text to accompany an advanced seminar at
university, after you've taken all the introductory courses.The writer adds greater detail to the
framework of what you already know, fleshing it out, and sharing his enthusiasm
for all things Byzantine.History is
storytelling, and this book is full of stories, and characters.

The starting date set for this Byzantium is the inauguration
of Constantinople in the year 330, a city ordered constructed by the Roman
Emperor Constantine so he could have a monumental base in the east of the
empire, to match Rome in the west.The
ending date used is the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in
1453.

So why did the empire last so long?The author offers lots of examples of how the
Christian faith was a unifying and inspiring force in an empire made up of
disparate people spread out over many lands.The Emperor was the chief defender of the faith.The Emperors also provided for smooth succession
from one emperor to the next, something Western Rome rarely managed.

Other things helped, like having many talented leaders and
soldiers, the great wealth which helped when bribing bad guys to behave, a
magnificent and intimidating capital city that was amazingly defensible, practical
plans for organized integration and resettlement of the inevitable migrants to
the safe and wealthy empire, and skillful foreign relations which forged friendships
and alliances.

Interestingly, the author points out that the powerful
church and the popular holy men and women played the role of a check &
balance institution on the Emperor's powerful military and civic
administration.The church leaders
checked excesses, provided social services, and even took on various positions
in the State when necessary during times of crisis.

The perceptive reader of history will always find in the past, parallels
to the present, which is part of the fun of reading histories, and
this book is full of those parallels.The author doesn't bang you over the head with them, but the very fact
that he includes certain stories in the book suggests that he understands the
parallels very well.

The beautiful, literate English style of writing makes the
long book a reading pleasure, but the sheer volume of stories and eras and
events means it is best to take the book slowly.Battles, betrayals, theological disputes,
invasions, truces, and treaties can become monotonous without a break now and then.I found the middle section of the book less interesting
just for that reason: I should have
taken a break from reading but I didn't!

A rough summary of the book's contents would be to say that it touches on the most active
and known leaders: Constantine,
Justinian, Heraclius, Leo III, Constantine V...
And in the book, you'll get good explanations of:

why the feudal system developed,

how the trading city-states of the late middle ages and the early
Renaissance shaped the Mediterranean,

how the texts saved over time by the Byzantines fueled the
High Renaissance,

why the Catholic Church split between Orthodox and Church of
Rome,

the continual threat from military leaders to secular
leaders,

why there is always strain between the cities and the
heartland, and

what the heck icons were really about.

One strong message in the book, as in any book about the
past, is that we are all bastard peoples created from massive mixing of genes
and cultures.The era of the
nation-state has fueled the false nationalistic belief that we form unique
peoples and cultures.This book show
that to be utter nonsense.

Another message that comes across is that much of the
present world still behaves and reasons as if the early middle ages never
ended.Western policy makers of today would
benefit from reading this book so they could better understand the savage
so-called reasoning the crazies of today use to justify their massacres,
hatreds and utter barbarism.

The third message, that is very timely, is that the
Byzantine Empire survived over 1000 years because they were able to integrate
outsiders, to reward them for their efforts, and to harness their skills for
the society's good.That is a not-so subtle
message to rich countries today that resist migrants, and marginalize them when
they do let them enter the countries.

From the book's description:

For more than a millennium, the Byzantine Empire presided
over the juncture between East and West, as well as the transition from the
classical to the modern world. Jonathan Harris, a leading scholar of
Byzantium, eschews the usual run-through of emperors and battles and instead
recounts the empire’s extraordinary history by focusing each chronological
chapter on an archetypal figure, family, place, or event.

Harris’s action-packed introduction presents a civilization rich in contrasts,
combining orthodox Christianity with paganism, and classical Greek learning
with Roman power. Frequently assailed by numerous armies—including those of
Islam—Byzantium nonetheless survived and even flourished by dint of its
somewhat unorthodox foreign policy and its sumptuous art and architecture,
which helped to embed a deep sense of Byzantine identity in its people.

Enormously engaging and utilizing a wealth of sources to cover all major
aspects of the empire’s social, political, military, religious, cultural, and
artistic history, Harris’s study illuminates the very heart of Byzantine
civilization and explores its remarkable and lasting influence on its neighbors
and on the modern world.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

If you are really interested in the Byzantine Empire, but don't wish to spend the 20+ hours needed to read this book, or you wish to have a basic grounding before reading this book, here is a 3 hour video documentary about the Byzantine Empire that you can watch at your leisure.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Grab a Cup and Read

About This Review Site

I am Candida Martinelli, and I review books set in Italy or Ancient Rome, or about Italy and Italian culture, or about hyphenated Italian culture. My site is family-friendly. Authors and publishers please click the image to visit my Contact and Reviews page.

Reviewed Books and Authors Listed

Follow Me on Facebook

Reviewed Books by Jacket

Visit my Pinterest board where each book review here, is bookmarked/linked to the book's jacket. Locate a book cover at Pinterest, then click through to read the review here.

To Know When I Post A New Review...

Women's Fiction - Psychological Novel

A retired couple visit Venice. Review: "It read as a middle age marital crisis at first, then everything changed and I couldn't put it down." Review: "This charming story is an armchair visit to Venice that gives mature women renewed hope of second chance love and has a surprising twist to the mystery." Click the cover to go to the book's Amazon.com page.

Romance - Satire Novel

Gina Accornero's quiet life is threatened when the media invade her sleepy seaside town in search of a disgraced TV star, Robert Granieri. "This romantic tale...is spiced with a rich satire of the wired world we live in." Click the cover to go to the book's Amazon.com page.

Romance - Family Life Novel

Two hyphenated Italians find each other and love. "A Modern Multicultural Fairy Tale: This sweet modern romance is chock full of matchmaking and happy endings for everyone concerned, with the exception of the obligatory ogre, who gets his just desserts while the happy reader develops an inexplicable craving for bagels." Click the cover to go to book's page at Amazon.com.

Traditional Murder Mystery

A retired woman visits Italy and gets involved in murder. "An old-fashioned who done it with plenty of suspicious characters, set in modern day Italy." Click cover to go to book's page at Amazon.com.

Italophile Short Stories

Crime, murder and male-female relations, a la Daphne du Maurier. "well-crafted" and "unpredictable" Click image to go to the book's page at Amazon.com.

Crime-Romance Novel

An Italian Europol officer deals with crime and women. "...reminded me a lot of the show Criminal Minds" Click the cover to go to the book's age at Amazon.com.

Gilded Age 9-Book YA Mystery Series

Debutante Violet deals with family and crime in 1899 New York City. "I adored this sweet little book" Click the cover to go to the first book's page at Amazon.com.

Children's E-Book - Universal PDF E-Book Format

Click the image to view the book in your browser, and download if you like it.